The DUP is not just interested in shaping Government policy in Northern Ireland – but wants to use its king-making power at Westminster to influence what the Government does in the rest of the UK, Nigel Dodds has said.

In a speech to a jubilant party conference in the Castlereagh Hills above east Belfast, the DUP’s Westminster leader set out an expansionist vision of what his party’s role in sustaining Theresa May in office can deliver.

Mr Dodds, who is one of the most popular DUP figures with the party membership, was welcomed to the stage with rapturous applause after a year in which he became one of the most significant MPs in Westminster.

As the Government’s chief whip, Julian Smith, looked on, Mr Dodds said firmly: “Let me make it absolutely clear that we will honour our side of the bargain and we expect the Conservative Party will too”.

Senior Government figures present

In further evidence of the close DUP-Conservative ties, the de facto deputy Prime Minister, Damian Green, addressed the DUP’s conference fund-raising dinner last night.

Today, Mr Dodds told a packed conference hall in the La Mon House Hotel that although most attention had focused on the £1 billion of new money to Northern Ireland which the DUP secured as part of its confidence and supply agreement, that “what we achieved for people across the UK is arguably even more significant”.

“And conference, let me remind you what we did achieve for all of the people living in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK because, given the seemingly selective memory of some of our detractors, it would be easy to forget.

“Because it was right for the UK as a whole we insisted we would protect pensioners and there would be no change to the pensions triple lock or to the universal nature of the winter fuel allowance.

“And because our place in the world matters we also ensured the government agreed to the NATO commitment of spending 2% of GDP on the armed services.

“And because our farmers and rural communities matter so much we secured farm support right through to the end of the Parliament.”

Vision extends beyond Ulster

Then, signifying the DUP’s desire to continue to influence Government policy nationally, as well as its actions in Northern Ireland, he added: “Through the [DUP-Tory]Co-ordination Committee we will continue to make sure that the government does the right thing not just for Northern Ireland but for the whole of the UK.

“That is why, though we won’t always trumpet it from the roof tops, we will make sure that the economic benefits of the United Kingdom extend to all parts of the nation and to all people regardless of their class or background.

“There are even some who say that if the DUP had written the Conservative Party’s election manifesto, they wouldn’t have needed our votes at all.”

Mr Dodds did not spell it out in his speech, but over recent months senior party figures have repeatedly made clear that they do not want to change policy on issues such as abortion or gay rights – where the DUP has deeply conservative positions.

Rather, it is likely that Mr Dodds’ comments refer to areas such as economic policy, immigration, the shape of Brexit and defence.

In an attempt to reassure nationalists in Northern Ireland, Mr Dodds pledged that his party’s goal was “not to push some narrow DUP agenda but to deliver for the whole community in Northern Ireland”.

Effusive public backing for Foster

Mr Dodds – whose friends have for years said that, unlike many deputy leaders, he does not want to be party leader – also publicly paid homage to DUP leader Arlene Foster and made clear his support for her continuing in the role, despite a year in which she has been under intense pressure, particularly over the ‘cash for ash’ scandal.

“There’s a lot of talk about fake news, but if anyone wanted to see such a phenomenon in action they could do worse than review how Arlene has been treated in 2017.

“Arlene, the truth is these people do not come for you because you are weak but because you are strong.

“And though it has been testing and trying at times – both for you and your family – you have come through this stronger and better than ever.

“Those who thought you could be browbeaten or harassed out of politics didn’t reckon on the will and the resolve of a strong unionist woman from County Fermanagh.

“I say, and I say on behalf of every elected member and every member of this party, at a time when other political leaders are heading for the Exit – Stage Left, Arlene isn’t going away.”

That endorsement was met with loud applause in the conference hall.

Vocal approval for strident attacks on Sinn Féin

Significant segments of Mr Dodds’ speech were focused on criticising Sinn Féin, something which was noticeably less obvious from the DUP conference platform a year ago at a point where the two parties were working together more closely in the Stormont Executive than ever before – just weeks before it imploded.

He said: “Sinn Féin brought down the institutions at Stormont not because republicanism was winning, but because the Assembly hadn’t become the conveyor belt to a united Ireland they had promised their people.

“Even now they are afraid to return to the Assembly to make their case and to fight their corner without the outcome of key issues being pre-cooked in advance.

“They are the ones who are running from the political battlefield pleading for others to help them out.

“That is not the sign of a strong movement, but of one that lacks the confidence of its convictions … and as we all know, they have plenty of convictions,” a jibe at the number of IRA members within Sinn Féin who have a criminal record and a line which was met with a roar of approval from the conference hall.

He accused Gerry Adams’ party of seeking to “cultivate chaos” but said they had underestimated the DUP and unionist voters and that for some of his MP colleagues in June’s election “it wasn’t a case of counting their votes but of weighing them”.

To derisive laughter from the delegates, he added: “After the March election, there were those in Sinn Féin who were calling for another Assembly election… I don’t hear too many asking for one now”.

Mr Dodds again rounded on Jeremy Corbyn, saying that “though I have many good friends in the Labour Party the prospect of a Corbyn government was not one that any unionist could have countenanced”.

Warning of need for compromise with SF

Mr Dodds reiterated that without devolution in Northern Ireland, the Government “within a very short space of time” will need to appoint Conservative ministers to run Stormont departments. He said: “None of us want to see Direct Rule introduced but we are fast approaching the moment when it will be the lesser of two evils.”

Then, in a a key segment of his speech, Mr Dodds essentially told his party, in barely-coded language, that it is in its strategic long-term interests to have Stormont restored and that will mean compromise with Sinn Féin.

The North Belfast MP warned against a “simple, but flawed, analysis” that the party no longer needs Stormont because of its power at Westminster.

He went on: “Of course there is no pressure on us to do a deal and any agreement will have to be politically balanced, but it is in Northern Ireland’s long term interests to have a functioning Executive.

“That doesn’t mean we rush into a deal that is not right and it doesn’t mean we need to do a deal overnight but our goal should be to see Stormont up and running again.

That will inevitably mean taking difficult decisions but I believe that this party has always shown that the deals we have made in the past have been to Northern Ireland’s long term advantage.”

In a well-received speech with lots of applause lines, there was no applause for that message.

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